BlogRoll

Smucci Fabric

August 23, 2008

Yesterday, I mentioned that my dream to make my own custom fabric had finally come true. Feathers from my 2 Macaws, collected over several years, were photographed with a Nikon D700 by my friend, Tom Brooks. The image was given to the talented Kent Illenden whose expertise made the feather fabric a reality.

The detail is unbelievablely reproduced, each feather looking as though it could be plucked from the fabric and held in your hand. My camera doesn't capture the subtleties and beauty of the feathers in the photos above. I wish I had a camera like Tom's! However, I think you get the general idea.

Next week I am gathering supplies and making plans for The Beach Bed, The Gingko Bed, The Manger Bed, The Fall Leaves Bed, and more. I will let you use your imaginations for awhile, before telling you more about the Natural Elements line of pet beds by ddkdesigns, llc.

Oh, by the way, the man behind the "curtain of fabric" is my son, Jamie. He is truly the invaluable person behind the scenes, and these photos serve as a metaphor to his current role in the production of ddkdesigns,llc. Jamie is so knowledgable about the nuances of websites, HTML language, blog format, and general computer navigation. Without my son, my blog would look much less professional than it does. Jamie is truly the wind under my wings right now. How many people can each of us really count on, for anything, in our lives? Jamie is a truly special, talented, patient, and giving person. And I can count on him for anything.

August 22, 2008

Suki and Chica are 5 and 4 years old, respectively. Macaws typically live for 80 to 100 years of age, so I guess I will spend the rest of my life with these wonderful creatures, and then some. In a recent post, I disclosed my desire to create the Natural Elements line of pet beds. A cat bed, adorned in fabulous feather images, is both amusing and beautiful. My parrots have inspired me to design

The Feather Bed for our un-feathered friends.

Today, I saw my dream of feathers on fabric become a reality. I am so excited to have actually created my very own custom fabric with feathers from Suki and Chica, the brilliant assistance of my photographer and dear friend Tom Brooks at http://www.brooksphotography.biz/ , and technical support from Kent Illenden at SFC Graphics, killenden@sfcgraphics.com .

August 19, 2008

...to have a pet bed that captures nature's beauty, some of our favorite and most cherished visual memories? Beds so beautiful that they become one with nature's natural elements. Remember jumping into a big pile of freshly raked autumn leaves, with your dog, and burying yourselves together under the musty, earthy smell of the leaves above you? Or how about the family vacations at the shore, where the days were spent walking along the beach in the sand? The part of the beach where the water just breaks and seashells rest as the tide pulls out. I treasure the memories I have of my incredibly rare and wonderful, "ruby red" Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, "Bailey," who would walk alongside me and run after the waves and tiny sand crabs. He would look to me for guidance on whether or not he should dine on the sand crab delicacy, and I left it up to him. After all, he was on vacation, too.

What if a pet bed could capture those exact images in its' design, and bring back those treasured childhood memories?

How humorous would it be to see a cat sleeping on a pile of parrot feathers, like those of a vibrant blue and gold Macaw? Imagine fabric that is specifically and artistically made depicting the beauty of a bird feather, in abundance, and then splashed all over the interior of the bed and on the pillow. Talk about the "cat who ate the canary!" I am the proud owner of 2 young Macaws, "Suki" and "Chica," and have been collecting their awesome feathers for years. I am using their feathers to create my very own, colorful, custom fabric for my pet beds. Thus, the original "feather bed" for our un-feathered friends is born.

The possibilities are endless for the Natural Elements line of petbeds, and are limited only to the extent of my imagination. The beauty and simplicity of nature has always inspired me with passion and childlike wonder. My vision is to capture elements of natural beauty and artistically transfer those images to a product for our homes and our pets. The Natural Elements line of petbeds will elicit happy memories and remind us of what is truly beautiful, and by doing so, will hug each one of us...pets included.